The Language Of The Night: Essays On Fantasy And Science Fiction

As a critic of science fiction and fantasy, Ursula Le Guin is neither as prolific nor as academically inclined as Samuel R. Delany, but she is always readable and insightful. The Language of the Night is the first collection of her essays, reviews, book introductions, talks and other miscellaneous writings. It is probably most of interest for the insights it provides into her own writing, because she can be extraordinarily clear about the background to her own major works such as The Left Hand of Darkness. But other essays discuss such things as the strengths and weaknesses of science fiction, the value of fantasy and so forth. In fact, the collection ranges as wide as her own fiction. Her later non-fiction, such as Dancing at the Edge of the World, Cheek by Jowl, Steering the Craft and The Wave in the Mind, are also worth reading not just for what she has to say about her own fiction, but also for her thoughts on the craft of writing in general and on feminism and science fiction in particular.   Ursula Le Guin has to be one of the most important and most thoughtful writers working in science fiction today, so it is always going to be worth seeking out what she has to say about the genre.